A WOMAN was conned out of tens of thousands of pounds by a fraudster who claimed to represent a credit card company.

The victim, who is 70, received a phone call on the evening of Wednesday, June 15 from a man who called himself Mr Smith and said he was from the Visa fraud department authority team.

The man convinced the victim that there had been suspicious transactions on her bank card and then tricked her into withdrawing large amounts of cash from their account at her nearest bank.

The woman took the money back to her house in Bramley Close, Lymington and waited for a courier to collect it.

When the courier arrived, he convinced the victim that the money she had withdrawn was fake and offered to take it away from her. She handed the full amount to him.

The offenders got away with £24,000.

The victim described the man who collected the money as of medium build, about 5ft 10ins tall, with very dark hair and a long face.

PC Craig Shears said: “This was a horrific crime where the offenders have taken £24,000 of this woman’s hard-earned cash.

"The man on the phone, who called himself Mr Smith, and the courier are likely to be two different people working together to con their victims out of money.

“We want to warn residents that these requests are not genuine and that no bank would operate in this manner. Anyone who receives a suspicious call is urged not to give any details to the caller and to report the matter to the police immediately.

“If you have elderly or vulnerable relatives, friends or neighbours please make them aware of this scam and remind them not to give any details to unexpected callers.

"Remain alert and if you see them being approached by unexpected visitors please check who they are and ensure they are a legitimate caller.”